Up to Wednesday night it was believed that the Conference
would meet on Thursday morning, to decide on the means of restoring the Egyptian status quo. The Porte, however, at the _eleventh hour, signified not only that its representative would not attend the Conference, which was expected, but that the Sultan objected to its assembling in Constantinople. As the Sultan has no power to prevent Ambassadors from meeting, this might have been disregarded, but the German Charge d'Affaires and the Austrian Ambassador pleaded the necessity for further instructions. The Conference, therefore, did not sit, and an expectation prevails that it may be adjourned sine die. In that event, England and France must act either together or singly ; but there seems no reason for so unexpected a rupture. If the two German Powers desire merely to support Turkish policy, they need not have accepted the Conference, which is not ren- dered more dangerous to Turkey by the Turkish reluctance to attend it. It is evident that the British Foreign Office does not despair, and of course, the representatives of the Powers can come to an agreement, even if the form of a conference is abandoned. By the latest advices, the German instructions had arrived.
